Networking Skills for Business Professionals
“Whether you are an independent contractor looking for your next contract, a business owner needing great employees and associates, or an employee inside an organization looking to climb the corporate ladder, your ability to build and maintain relationships is mandatory for success.” Networking guru, Colleen Clarke
75-80% of opportunities that come your way in life come through your network when it is maintained, built and utilized properly.
Professionals rely heavily on the right partners to execute a project and meet company goals and initiatives. You can’t mine a diamond mine alone, build a strong, reliable team of people or do financial investing without a strong network of polished professionals in your arsenal. Building up a database of champions to work along with you from day to day takes years of risk taking and experimentation. When they all come together, magic happens.
Networking is about building and maintaining relationships, it is not selling; it is telling. Most professionals think they innately know how to make their contacts count and how to work a room. This workshop will ensure that you are presenting yourself in the most professional and effective manner possible and heightening your visibility so as to grow and harvest a strong, dynamic network of people and resources.
You will learn strategies and techniques, scripts and approaches that will make you feel comfortable calling perfect strangers, or individuals you have just met. Examine ways to increase your visibility inside and outside an organization so people can find you easily. It’s not just who you know, but who knows you!
Maybe rubber chicken dinners bore or scare you. Networking face to face not your forte? Learn techniques that will build your network without saying a word or even being present. And when you have to attend outside events, the business netiquette tips you will master in this session will have you anxiously awaiting the next function.
Visibility Networking
If You Aren’t Appearing You’re Disappearing. This session speaks to the importance of internal networking and increasing your presence or visibility in your workplace to improve your chance for career longevity, build better relationships with colleagues and increase your happiness ratio. Identify strategies to increase your visibility and learn techniques that will improve your internal networking capability.
Netiquette at Business and Social Functions
Every social gathering or business event provides a unique opportunity for you to achieve your networking goal. The manner in which you engage people can speak volumes about what the outcome may be. Be on top of your game by following a few simple rules that go a long way to enhancing your professional image. For starters:
Find out what side to wear your name badge on. When does one exchange business cards. Who gets introduced to who. What if I forget their name. How long should I speak to any one person. Eating what, how. Disengaging from a conversation.
Networking: How to Build Relationships That Count
75-80% of all opportunities that come our way in life are found through networking. Find out the truth about networking and how to make networking a daily part of your job – it’s not just who you know, but who knows you! Recognize and overcome barriers and fears that prevent you from networking effectively. Identify specific tactics that will raise the company’s visibility thereby increasing sales – if you aren’t appearing, you are disappearing! Learn how to network with style and break the ice at business and social functions.
Speed Networking
Imagine you have rows of participants sitting knee to knee across from one another. At the 1-2-3 GO signal everyone in Row A has 2 minutes to tell their buddy in Row B all about themself (guidelines provided). 2 minutes later a bell rings and Row B spends 2 minutes telling Row A all about themself. The final 2 minutes are spent filling out a form and sharing contact and resource information. People that used to hate networking and those who love it are energized and having a blast. Get your conference or professional development day off to a roaring start, or introduce an evening cocktail party with Speed Networking and Business Etiquette Tips at Social Functions.
